Adhesion studies of latex film surfaces on the meso- and nanoscale

In this paper the effects of surface roughness and annealing temperature (T) of latex coating films on adhesion are discussed for the different stages of the film formation process. The surface free energy of latex films was assessed in terms of practical work of adhesion (W) (or adherence) using a custom-built adhesion-testing device (ATD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements. For preannealed latex films surface roughness averages (R_a) were determined from AFM height images and were related to the values of W obtained from ATD measurements at room temperature. The results obtained using these tests exhibiting surface behavior on different length scales indicate a dependence of the measured adhesion on surface roughness and temperature, as well as on the length scale of the measurements.First preannealed samples were studied, which were obtained by heat treatment above the respective glass transition temperatures (T_g). Increasing the temperature of preannealing resulted in a decrease of the adherence observed in ATD experiments at room temperature. However, on the nanoscale, using AFM, no significant variation of the adherence was observed. This observation can be explained by roughness arguments. Preannealing decreases roughness which results in lower adherence values measured by ATD while for essentially single asperity AFM experiments roughness has an insignificant effect. Specimens were also annealed over a constant period of time (90 min) at different temperatures. At the end of the heat treatment, adhesion was measured at the treatment temperature by ATD. The amplified effect of temperature observed in this case on adherence is attributed to the combination of roughness decrease and increasing test temperature. In a third set of experiments completely annealed samples were studied by ATD as well as by AFM as a function of temperature. With increasing T values ATD showed a decrease in adherence, which is attributed to a decreasing surface free energy of the annealed films at elevated T values. AFM, on the other hand, showed an opposite trend which is assigned to increasing penetration of the tip into the tip/wetting polymer samples versus increasing temperature. Finally, annealing isotherms as a function of time were investigated by ATD in situ at different temperatures. This last set of experiments allowed us to optimize annealing time and temperature to achieve complete curing.     

Impact of 100 MeV Au on the surface of relaxed Si0.5Ge0.5 alloy films studied by atomic force microscopy

We demonstrate a gradual surface modification process of relaxed Si_0.5Ge_0.5 alloy films by 100 MeV Au beam with fluence varying between 5 × 10¹⁰ and 1 × 10¹² ions/cm² at 80 K by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Presence of Ge quantum dots (QDs) was found in the virgin sample. The disappearance of the QDs were noticed when the samples were irradiated with a fluence of 5 × 10¹⁰ ions/cm². Craters were found developing at a fluence of 1 × 10¹¹ ions/cm². Apart from the evolution of the craters, blisters were also detected at a fluence of 1 × 10¹² ions/cm². Variation of the average root mean square value of the surface roughness as a function of fluence was examined.     

Pt(110)表面自吸附原子能量和力的改进分析型嵌入原子法分析

采用改进分析型嵌入原子法计算了Pt(110)表面自吸附原子的能量和法向力.当Pt吸附原子位于Pt(110)表面第一层原子的二重对称洞位上0.11nm时最稳定.Pt吸附原子的最佳迁移路径是由一个二重对称洞位沿密排方向迁移到最近邻的另一个二重对称洞位.在吸附原子远离表面的过程中，将依次经过排斥、过渡和吸引等三个区域.在排斥区和过渡区，由于吸附原子与表面原子间强的相互作用势，吸附原子的能量和法向力的形貌图均为(110)面原子排列的复形，与对势理论和嵌入原子法得到的结果一致.在吸引区，由于多体相互作用及晶体中原子 关键词： 金属表面 自吸附 能量 力     

The epitaxial sexiphenyl (0 0 1) monolayer on TiO2(1 1 0): A grazing incidence X-ray diffraction study

A para-sexiphenyl monolayer of near up-right standing molecules (nominal thickness of 30 Å) is investigated in-situ by X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation and ex-situ by atomic force microscopy. A terrace like morphology is observed, the step height between the terraces is approximately one molecular length. The monolayer terraces, larger than 20 μm in size, are extended along the [0 0 1] direction of the TiO₂(1 1 0) substrate i.e. along the Ti-O rows of the reconstructed substrate surface. The structure of the monolayer and its epitaxial relationship to the substrate is determined by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. Extremely sharp diffraction peaks reveal high crystalline order within the monolayer, which was found to have the bulk structure of sexiphenyl. The monolayer terraces are epitaxially oriented with the (0 0 1) plane parallel to the substrate surface (out-of-plane order). Four epitaxial relationships are observed. This in-plane alignment is determined by the arrangement of the terminal phenyl rings of the sexiphenyl molecules parallel to the oxygen rows of the substrate.     

Study of nitrogen ion implantation and diffusion phenomena on thin chromium layers followed by the atomic force microscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy techniques characterization

This research investigates the effect of ion implantation dosage level and further thermal treatment on the physical characteristics of chromium coatings on Si(1 1 1) substrates. Chromium films had been exposed to nitrogen ion fluencies of 1 × 10¹⁷, 3 × 10¹⁷, 6 × 10¹⁷ and 10 × 10¹⁷ N⁺ cm⁻² with a 15 keV energy level. Obtained samples had been heat treated at 450 °C at a pressure of 2 × 10⁻² Torr in an argon atmosphere for 30 h. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed significant increase in surface roughness as a result of nitrogen ion fluence increase. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) studies revealed a clear increased accumulation of Cr₂N phase near the surface as a result of higher N⁺ fluence. XRD patterns showed preferred growth of [0 0 2] and [1 1 1] planes of Cr₂N phase as a result of higher ion implantation fluence. These results had been explained based on the nucleation-growth of Cr₂N phase and nitrogen atoms diffusion history during the thermal treatment process.     

The effect of ITO films thickness on the properties of flexible organic light emitting diode

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on cyclic olefin copolymer substrate at room temperature by an inverse target sputtering system. The crystal structure and the surface morphology of the deposited ITO films were examined by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, separately. The electrical properties of the conductive films were explored by four-point probing. Visible spectrometer was used to measure the optical properties of ITO-coated films. The performance of the flexible organic light emitting diode device with different thickness anode was investigated in this study.     

Calculated elastic constants of dilute alloys based on bcc metals

The elastic constants of dilute alloys based on bcc metals have been calculated using the Green’s function method obtaining explicit expressions for change in elastic constants in terms oft-matrix. The crystal impurity problem is discussed within an impurity model containing central and non-central force constant changes extended up to second neighbours of the impurity. The effect of volume change on elastic constants and a contribution from electron pressure term are considered. Numerical results for changes in three elastic moduli have been presented for a number of dilute alloys based on Mo, Nb, W, Ta and V.     

Effect of the three-body force on triton asymptotic normalization constants by the hyperspherical harmonics expansion method

We investigate the change in the calculated value of asymptotic normalization constant (ANC) by the hyperspherical harmonics expansion method with the inclusion of three nucleon force (3BF) in addition to two nucleon force. We see that ANC does not change very much with the inclusion of 3BF indicating that the 3BF does not alter the asymptotic behaviours of HHE wavefunction significantly.     

An Improved Anharmonic Force Field of Difluoromethanimine, F2C NH

The anharmonic force field of difluoromethanimine, F₂C NH, has been reinvestigated theoretically using a coupled-cluster singles and doubles approach, augmented for structural optimization and harmonic force field by a contribution of connected triple excitations, CCSD(T). The cubic and quartic force constants have been obtained by numerical derivatives computed from analytical quadratic force constants calculated by second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory, MP2. The quadratic force constants and the equilibrium structure of F₂C NH have then been scaled by a global least-squares fitting procedure to the spectroscopic data and parameters experimentally determined for this molecule. This force field, obtained in the internal coordinates space and therefore valid for all isotopomers of difluoromethanimine, yields a complete set of spectroscopic molecular constants providing a critical assessment of the experimental rotational and centrifugal distortion constants, fundamentals, overtones, and combination bands determined so far for F₂C NH. In addition, the final force field can be used to make predictions of all important vibrational and rotational parameters which should be accurate and useful for new spectroscopic investigations.     

Evolution of stress and strain relaxation of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si(0 0 1)

The growth of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si substrates has attracted considerable interest in the last years because of their importance for optoelectronic devices as well as Si-based high speed transistors. Here we give a short overview on our recent real time stress measurements of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si(0 0 1) performed with a sensitive cantilever beam technique and accompanied by structural investigations with atomic force microscopy. Characteristic features in the stress curves provide detailed insight into the development and relief of the misfit strain. For the Stranski–Krastanow system Ge/Si(0 0 1) as well as for SiGe films with Si contents below 20%, the strain relaxation proceeds mainly into two steps: (i) by the formation of 3D islands on top of the Ge wetting layer; (ii) via misfit dislocations in larger 3D islands and upon their percolation.